Bad Press Is Good Press: Blogging For Election '08

By Liz Abinante

There comes a time in every blogger's life where they have to make a decision: do you talk about what's hot, what everyone else is talking about, or do you talk about the real issues and news that isn't in the spotlight? It's not an easy dilemma. You run the risk of being too off-topic and, well, you're not writing about what's relevant. So what do you do? Do you keep blogging the same things over and over again about Sarah Palin, or do you talk about what's actually new in the news?

So this is where we at BitchBuzz draw the line. We're done with Sarah Palin. She doesn't need our attention (unless Tina Fey plays her on SNL again). There hasn't been any new news on her in a long time. She's conservative. She's pro-gun. She's anti-gay. She's pro-Creationism. She's pro-abstinence only. She's pro-drilling. She's pro-war. She's a bad mom. She's a good mom. She's a mom, but it doesn't matter. She's hot. She's crazy. She's from a state with less people than the town I live in. She's a woman.

We get it. We've heard it all already. In fact, we've heard it so much, we have it memorized.

We are done writing about Sarah Palin. As tempting as it is to call her out on every crazy thing she does, it's not worth our time or our energy, and she doesn't need anymore attention.

The phrase "bad press is good press" is especially important here. Before Palin, John McCain's campaign wasn't exactly making headlines everyday, and now, well, we all know what's going on. Everybody's talking about Palin. Being in the news, no matter what people are saying about you, is what you want. You get attention, and you get followers.

The reality is that Palin is a good public speaker. She appeals to people. As crazy as she is in her political beliefs, people like her, and she's providing the Republican party with a fervor they haven't seen since Ronald Reagan dominated in the 1984 election. Focusing more on her just gives the Republican party an advantage they have not earned and do not deserve.

So from this point on, we're making a change at BitchBuzz. We're going to talk about what's new, what's happening, and what's going on. It may not be the headline at The Huffington Post (who we at BitchBuzz and myself as an individual love), but it is something we feel is "new" in news.

I like to compare this new stance here at BitchBuzz to the rhetoric surround the Barack Obama/Joe Biden campaign. We're going to be blogging about change. We're going to be blogging about what's new, and what's happening.

We're not going to be doing the same thing that's already been done, but just using different words to describe it.

We know that we're not going to sway many voters by pointing out how insane Palin and McCain are. We have to face the harsh reality that our words only mean so much, and we can only convince so many people to vote for Democrats when all they are hearing about is those crazy Republicans. If we want people on our side, we need to saturate them with information about the Democrats. In my opinion, there's nothing to be gained from spending your time discussing the people you aren't supporting, and not reporting news on the party that is best for our country.

So this is kind of a call to other like-minded bloggers to do the same. Stop reporting on Palin unless something new comes up. Stop talking about McCain unless something new is being reported. Focus your attention and efforts on the Obama/Biden campaign, and just how great their vision is for our country.

And hey - can we talk about just how amazing Joe Biden is for a minute? His announcement as a Obama's Vice President came and went without much fervor, thanks to the media's tornado surrounding Palin. But he's on the same page as me. What do you talk about when there's nothing to say?

If you have 30 minutes to kill, I would definitely encourage you to watch this excellent video of Biden speaking in Michigan on the number of ways the Obama/Biden campaign differs from the McCain/Palin campaign. And - gasp! - he actually discusses real issues, and what they mean to himself and Obama.

Image from Joe Biden's flickr. Yes, Joe Biden has flickr. Isn't that kind of cool?

POSTED IN: NEWS
Thu, 18 Sep 2008 15:30 (GMT+00)
1 Response
1.

Awesome post, Liz - it is time for a change!
:)

Kate
Thu, 18-Sep-2008 19:20 GMT

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